Jesse Dylan 's online health crusade

Commentary: Bob Dylan's son follows his own muse, too

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Jesse Dylan was pondering America's misplaced priorities not long before President Obama signed the most crucial social legislation in decades.

"The health care debate," he noted wryly last month, "seems to be about everything but health."

That's vintage Dylan, cutting through a thorny issue in one pointed, witty sentence. An accomplished film and video director, the eldest son of Bob Dylan has demonstrated considerable communications skills throughout his career. For instance, he collaborated with rap star will.i.am in 2008 to create an Emmy-winning video, "Yes We Can." The video was inspired by Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and tens of millions of people have seen it. Watch "Yes We Can" video.

The Los Angeles-based Dylan created a media and production company called FreeForm and the nonprofit organization, Lybba, a few years ago.

Lybba intends to present the accumulated medical wisdom in the world for free in easy-to-grasp wording. Check out Lybba here.

Dylan, 44, recently discussed his work with me over breakfast, a few blocks from where he attended New York University in the 1980s.

He said Lybba aims "to take the sea of knowledge and provide a context while using social networks to bring scientific knowledge to the people. There is power in our shared experiences, and we can help every single patient."

Dylan originally became fascinated by medicine when his son suffered from stomach pains. He and his wife grew increasingly frustrated by doctors' uninformative diagnoses. His son recovered, but Dylan remained disenchanted.

Lybba (pronounced LIB-a) represents a useful way to harness the power of Internet interactivity and social networking. Patrick McGovern, FreeForm executive project manager, points out that Lybba has accumulated more than 3,000 friends on Facebook and 10,000 followers on Twitter.

"We collect medical knowledge and combine that with social-networking tools to give specific answers to specific problems," said David Fore, Lybba's executive director. "We're asking: 'How can we take care of each other, now and in the future?'"

Peter Margolis, a professor of pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, told me he approves of Lybba's goal of "finding ways for patients, researchers and physicians to collaborate more effectively to improve care. I am intrigued with the idea of using the Internet to facilitate interactivity."

Margolis is also impressed by Dylan. "What's extremely intriguing about Jesse and his expertise in social media and communications is taking complex ideas and simplifying them. It's an extremely rare gift and he's incredibly good at it."

When Dylan and I spoke, I was struck by his passion for understanding medicine.

"He is intellectually driven and forward thinking," observed Priscilla Cohen, FreeForm executive producer who has worked with Jesse for eight years. "He is really, really, really curious about science and medicine."

Creating a legacy

What most impresses me about Jesse is that he has created a legacy all his own. It's a challenge for any eldest son to forge his own path, especially when your father is one of the most admired and influential people of modern times.

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When I asked Dylan if he ever considered a life in music, he smiled and said: "I don't have the gene." (Meanwhile, his youngest brother, Jakob Dylan, the leader of the popular band the Wallflowers, certainly does.)

Jesse takes tremendous pride in his heritage. Lybba was the name of a movie theater in his father's hometown of Hibbing, Minn. Bob Dylan's family owned it.

As far as I can tell, Jesse shares some characteristics with his father: a laser-like intelligence, a quick wit and a gift for galvanizing people. On FreeForm's home page, you'll see these words: "FreeForm developed out of a passion for telling stories that elicit positive change."

"At the epicenter of everything Jesse does, it's all about creating a community and bringing about change." McGovern said. "That's his core mission."

Crusading spirit

There might be something more at work here, too: a crusading spirit.

Jonathan Taplin, a professor at the Annenberg School of the University of Southern California, worked with Bob Dylan in the 1960s and has closely observed Jesse over the years. Read Media Web column about Jon Taplin.

Taplin suggests that Jesse's commitment to making the world a better place follows in the tradition of what Bob Dylan accomplished when his songs influenced the civil rights movement.

"What Jesse is doing is a continuation of what his dad did in 1963," Taplin said. "Bob Dylan physically organized people in a concert hall. Jesse can organize them by being in a virtual space with them."

While evidently flattered, Jesse said a comparison "is not apt. I'm a translator. I take what other people are doing."

One of Jesse's comments stuck with me, though. When I mentioned that I'd admired "Chronicles, Volume One," Bob Dylan's acclaimed 2004 memoir, he nodded and said, "He is an even better father than a writer. He is my best friend."

The future

Friends and associates enjoy speculating about what may lie ahead for Jesse.

"I think an Internet visionary is someone who sees the emergence of a global brain -- Jesse Dylan fits the bill," noted Jason Silva, host and producer for Al Gore's Current TV. "He seems to see the role of the Internet is extending the reach of each and every one of us."

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